Review: The DUFF by Kody Keplinger

byAllison (AllureofBooks)onSeptember 13, 2010

Summary:

Seventeen-year-old Bianca Piper is cynical and loyal, and she doesn’t think she’s the prettiest of her friends by a long shot. She’s also way too smart to fall for the charms of man-slut and slimy school hottie Wesley Rush. In fact, Bianca hates him. And when he nicknames her “Duffy,” she throws her Coke in his face.

But things aren’t so great at home right now. Desperate for a distraction, Bianca ends up kissing Wesley. And likes it. Eager for escape, she throws herself into a closeted enemies-with-benefits relationship with Wesley.

Until it all goes horribly awry. It turns out that Wesley isn’t such a bad listener, and his life is pretty screwed up, too. Suddenly Bianca realizes with absolute horror that she’s falling for the guy she thought she hated more than anyone (Source:Goodreads).

My Review:

I wasn’t sure what to expect from this one, I’ve seen a lot of mixed reviews. Some people loved it, some people really didn’t. I’m in the “loved it” camp. Big time. Seriously, I’m going to be on the over-enthusiastic Kody Keplinger cheerleading squad.

I think it was a ballsy book to write, I can already see the Judy Blume-hating parents and librarians descending on her like a big juicy porterhouse. Lots of sexy hijinks – in a YA book. Not quite as rare as it used to be, but most YA authors don’t tackle the “no strings attached – no feelings involved” side of things. Miz Keplinger has done it, and done it well. I love the way the relationship(s) were handled. I mean…come on. There is even a love letter. It doesn’t get any better than that (hello? Captain Wentworth!).

I wasn’t so crazy about how Bianca’s relationships with her parents was handled. It seems like their problems were just plastered in there so she’d have something to run away from. It wasn’t really tackled that well, in my opinion. Keplinger was such a great writer in every other regard, I think she could have done it better. But – I can kinda understand why she didn’t focus on it much since it wasn’t meant to be the big issue in the book.

I love having a heroine that isn’t gorgeous or sure of herself. She might be a little chubby, and she might have a big attitude…but it is still easy to fall for Bianca. Sometimes authors overwrite characters like this and make them annoying or hard to relate to, but Bianca was written very well. I also loved her friends and how loyal they were. Even if Bianca felt like the DUFF…they never ever treated her like one. Yay for good BFFs.

So, seriously. Pick this book up and get ready to fall in love with Bianca and get a nice hefty dose of teenage angst. I can’t wait to see what Kody Keplinger does next!

Like you I have heard mixed reviews about this book, and it didn't get my attention. But now after reading some awesome reviews about it, I'm sold. Probably going to pick it up in a few months, but for sure going to be reading it. Thanks for the great review.ps: I also like that the main character isn't perfect!